Scott has a new lifestyle e-bike, and it’s an unusual mix. The E-Ville is a step-through urban commuter with full suspension. In typical Scott fashion, the rear shock is enclosed within the frame, which should keep it cleaner and cut down on maintenance. Power comes from a Bosch Performance Line CX mid-drive with 100 Nm of torque.

The E-Ville comes in two trims. The E-Ville SUV is the more off-road-oriented of the pair. It gets an 800 Wh battery, a 120mm RockShox Recon Silver RL fork, a 100mm Suntour rear shock, and Schwalbe Advancer all-terrain tires, along with a Kiox 300 display and an 11-speed Cues drivetrain.

The E-Ville 20 is aimed more squarely at the city. It drops to a 720 Wh battery and swaps in Schwalbe Big Apple tires, a Purion 200 display, and a 10-speed Cues drivetrain.

Scott lists the SUV version at 5,400 euros and the E-Ville 20 at 4,600 euros.

Our Take:

A full-suspension step-through with a Bosch CX motor is a compelling package for riders who deal with rough city streets or want to wander onto dirt now and then. The hidden rear shock is a nice touch, too. The catch is that Scott hasn’t shared any US pricing. That might suggest the E-Ville won’t be coming to the States, and we’d be disappointed if that turns out to be the case.

Priority has electrified one of its analog bikes. The E-Sauce is the e-bike version of the brand’s Sauce, which also comes in an 8-speed model called the Hot Sauce. It’s a simple, straightforward single-speed with potential on both pavement and dirt.

It runs a 750W rear-hub motor with torque and cadence-sensing pedal assist, paired with a Gates belt drive. A 100mm Suntour suspension fork and 2.4″ knobby WTB tires handle the rough stuff, and the 720 Wh battery is rated for 20 to 60 miles of range.

The E-Sauce ships as a Class 2 e-bike but can be unlocked to Class 3. It doesn’t come with a rack or fenders, though it is compatible with front and rear cargo racks. It’s priced at $2,199.

Our Take:

The E-Sauce looks fun, and we like the idea of a belt-driven single-speed that can head off-road. That said, it’s relatively feature-light for $2,199. No rack, no fenders, and one gear is a lot to ask at that price when the market is full of more loaded options. Priority is based in Manhattan, New York, which may play a part in that number.

Monarc came on the scene this past summer offering great bikes at great value. One of its hallmark features was including two batteries with every e-bike it shipped.

That’s no longer the only option. Riders can now choose between two batteries, one battery, or no battery at all. The no-battery tier is meant for riders who already own a Monarc and have batteries to spare.

For the Marker, that works out to $1,999 with two batteries, $1,749 with one, or $1,499 with none. The Tracer is $1,899 with two batteries, $1,649 with one, and $1,399 without a battery.

Our Take:

This is awesome. Monarc’s bikes are now within reach of more budgets, and the two-battery options are still a great value. Riders who don’t need double the range can save $250, and households adding a second Monarc don’t have to pay for batteries they already have.

German company Novbyx is getting ready to launch a Kickstarter campaign for an e-bike with a unique, weld-free frame. Aside from the head tube, the frame is made up of two aluminum arcs. One replaces a standard top tube and seat stay. The other replaces the down tube and chain stay. The bottom bracket and seatpost connect to the frame with clamps.

The idea is to eliminate complexity, reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing and shipping, shrink the packaging, and make the bike easier to repair. Novbyx’s website claims a 99.3% reduction in emissions from the frame construction process compared to a traditional welded frame. Once shipping is factored in, the brand claims a 23.9% reduction in carbon emissions.

Power comes from an all-in-one 250W rear-hub motor with 35 Nm of torque and a 10 Ah battery, using torque, speed, slope, and gradient sensors. The rest of the build includes a 10-speed Shimano Cues drivetrain, Shimano Deore hydraulic disc brakes, and 700c wheels. There’s no suspension, but the frame design is reportedly compliant enough to soften bumps on its own.

The campaign hasn’t launched yet. When it does, backers can grab one of the first production run of 77 numbered units for $1,999. The price rises to $2,299 for the second run and $2,599 for the rest of the campaign.

Our Take:

This is one of the more creative frame designs we’ve seen in a while, and the repairability angle is a smart one. The emissions numbers are Novbyx’s own claims, and the comfort of an unsuspended frame is something we’d want to feel for ourselves. As with any crowdfunded bike, we’ll be watching to see how the campaign plays out and whether production stays on track.

The Unit 1 AURA Smart Helmet packs a lot of tech into one lid. It has integrated front and rear lights with three modes: Standard, Max Visibility, and Eco. When paired with the Unit 1 Remote, it also adds turn signals and an automatic brake light.

It’s certified for e-bike use up to 28 mph, and it carries both an internal MIPS system and automatic crash detection. If the helmet detects a crash, it sends you a notification to check that you’re OK. If you don’t respond, it messages an emergency contact. Unit 1’s website says the AURA is Virginia Tech’s #1 rated urban smart helmet, and it currently sits at position 26 out of hundreds in Virginia Tech’s total rankings.

A magnetic system lets you swap the included brim for a visor or run both together. The AURA charges via USB-C, comes in three sizes, and costs $260.

The Adaptive Helmet Visor is a smart add-on for it. The photochromic lens stays clear indoors or under cloudy skies and darkens in the sun. Five magnets hold it firmly in place, but it’s designed to detach on impact for safety. It works with both the AURA and NEON helmets and costs $130. If you don’t need the photochromic lens, Unit 1 also sells separate clear and tinted visors for $40 each.

To get the most out of the AURA, you’ll want the Unit 1 Remote. It mounts to any handlebar diameter and pairs with Unit 1’s smart helmets and app to enable the turn signals. It charges via USB-C, runs for up to 30 hours, and costs $40.

• Why don’t we run throttle-only range tests on the e-bikes we review?
• On the Murf Higgs Cargo, is there any need to switch gears if you’re mostly ghost pedaling?
• How does the Urtopia Carbon Joy handle light off-road riding on fire roads, and what should you look for in an off-road-capable e-bike?

The New York City Council has introduced 23 bills aimed at micromobility and e-bike regulation. One of them would prevent the sale, rental, and use of Class 3 e-bikes within the city.

The bill also includes a trade-in program built in collaboration with e-bike retailers. Riders would be able to exchange a Class 3 bike for a Class 1 or Class 2 model rather than simply losing the bike they already own.

Council Member Crystal Hudson, who introduced the legislation, said her bill would stop the sale and rental of Class 3 e-bikes and then phase out their use after a two-year implementation period, with the goal of giving current riders, and delivery workers in particular, time and options to transition.

This lands on top of an already complicated set of rules in New York. The city recently introduced a law separating e-bikes from eMotos, which we covered on a previous episode.

Our Take:

Twenty-three bills is a lot of legislation to drop at once, and very few packages this size survive intact. We’ll be watching to see which pieces actually become law.

The trade-in program is the part worth paying attention to. If the city is going to take Class 3 bikes off the street, giving riders a path to a legal replacement is far better than leaving them to eat the cost. Delivery workers in particular depend on these bikes to make a living, and a ban without a transition plan would hit them hardest. Whether the program gets funded and how it actually works in practice is a different question, and that’s usually where these things fall apart.

A European trade group called European Cycling Industries is asking the European Parliament and EU member states to pass new laws around e-bikes. Its focus is non-compliant e-bikes, meaning illegal products that exceed the region’s speed and power limits.

The headline request is a ban on the sale of tampering kits. These are the hardware and software tools that let riders bypass or change the speed and power limits on an otherwise legal e-bike.

ECI also wants to build an evidence base on the safety and economic impact of illegal bikes, strengthen the rules governing which products can be sold online and in stores, and improve enforcement of those rules. It’s asking for better training for law enforcement as well, so officers can identify non-compliant bikes and step in.

The group laid out these points in a published manifesto, and it released a separate paper covering the steps manufacturers should take to prevent tampering in the first place. ECI argues the stakes reach past individual companies, pointing to an EU cycling value chain that spans manufacturing, infrastructure, cycle tourism, rentals, logistics, and related services. By its count, that chain supports 1.3 million jobs, contributes €21 billion to EU GDP, and covers more than 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses.

Our Take:

Europe’s e-bike laws are meaningfully different from ours, so this isn’t a one-to-one comparison with anything happening stateside. The underlying idea still holds up.

We support efforts to crack down on illegal products, here and in the EU. Tampering kits are a problem precisely because they take a bike that was designed, tested, and certified to behave a certain way and push it past those limits. Going after the kits rather than the riders is the right order of operations. Safety first.

More power has been the running theme in the eMTB world lately, and this follows closely behind Avinox’s M2S motor. Giant and Liv have introduced new versions of the Trance and Intrigue, and both bring the numbers up.

The new bikes deliver 120 Nm of torque and 850W of peak power, but the bigger story is control. The SyncDrive Pro 4 motor was developed in-house in collaboration with Yamaha and uses a torque-based, zero-cadence design. The goal is instant response the moment you push down on the pedals.

Traction control is new here, too. When the extra power comes on hard enough to threaten rear tire grip, the system steps in and manages it to keep things settled.

Suspension travel has gone up as well, now at 160mm in front and 150mm in the rear. The Giant Trance carries an 840 Wh battery, while the Liv Intrigue runs a 560 Wh battery with an optional 280 Wh range extender.

Both bikes come in several build tiers, starting at 6,000 Euro and topping out at 10,000 Euro. There’s no US availability yet.

Our Take:

Traction control is the detail we keep coming back to. Torque numbers have been climbing fast across the category, and at some point raw power stops being the limiting factor and tire grip does. A motor that can back off when the rear wheel is about to let go is more useful on a technical climb than another 10 Nm.

The zero-cadence design is worth watching as well, since instant pickup off the pedals changes how a bike feels in slow, awkward sections. We’d like to find out how both systems hold up on real trails. That requires US availability, which we don’t have yet.

Four Urban Arrow models are affected by a new recall: the Family, Shorty, Cargo L/XL, and Tender 1000/1500.

The issue is a faulty bolt in the seatpost clamp mechanism that holds the saddle to the seatpost. The bolt can break, leaving the saddle loose and creating a fall hazard. No injuries have been reported, though there have been 9 reports of damage or wear at that connection point.

The recall covers 1,032 e-bikes sold in the US and 134 sold in Canada between 2016 and 2022.

If you own one of these bikes, stop riding it and contact Gazelle USA for a free replacement saddle and seatpost. There’s a recall registration form linked on the CPSC’s webpage. Installation doesn’t require any special tools, so owners can handle it themselves, but an Urban Arrow dealer will do it free of charge if you’d rather not.

Our Take:

This is a recall handled the way recalls should be. The problem was caught before anyone got hurt, the replacement parts are free, and the fix is simple enough that most owners can do it in their own garage with a dealer option for anyone who’d rather not.

The detail to pay attention to is the date range. These bikes were sold between 2016 and 2022, which means a fair number of them have changed hands at least once since then. If you bought a used Urban Arrow, you’re not on Gazelle’s list, and nobody is going to email you about it. Check your model against the CPSC listing.

Monarc has built out a set of accessories that talk to its bikes, and the Smart Helmet is the centerpiece. It’s a one-size-fits-most lid with a dial adjustment, and it packs in integrated lights, speakers, and a microphone. Pair it with a Monarc bike and the helmet syncs with the bike’s turn signals and brake lights, so riders behind you see your signals at eye level instead of just down at the rear rack. An ambient light sensor switches the running lights on automatically when it gets dark. The speakers handle music, phone calls, and turn-by-turn navigation. At the time of filming, Monarc was shipping a helmet free with every bike along with an extra battery. Bought on its own, it’s $229.

The Rear-Vehicle Alert System mounts to the back of a Monarc e-bike and watches traffic coming up behind you. It pairs with the bike’s display or the Monarc app and shows color-coded distance indicators that adjust in real time. It can track up to five vehicles at once and has a range of 460 feet. If you’re wearing the Smart Helmet, it can send audio warnings straight to your ears. It’s priced at $89.

The TPI Sensors replace your existing valve caps and monitor tire pressure and temperature, pairing with the bike’s display and the Monarc app. They’ll notify you if pressure drops below or spikes above safe levels, and they work across a range from 14.5 to 188 PSI. They’re rated IP67 for dust and water resistance, they’re battery-powered with an advertised life of months to years, and they come with security locknuts so nobody walks off with them. Also $89.

• How do Swagman’s bike racks compare to Hollywood Racks’ Sport Rider and Crosstrack?
• Is the battery on the Aventon Current EXP actually removable, and what are the tradeoffs of a fully integrated battery?
• Can you use the throttle on the Aventon Level 4 REC without pedal assist turned on?
• Should integrated turn signals be mandatory on e-bikes, and what makes them work well or poorly?

A new bill in New York would crack down on the sale of illegal e-motos, and it follows a rise in crashes across the state, including one in which two people died after an e-moto hit a bicycle head on.

The legislation defines an e-moto as a vehicle capable of exceeding 20 mph that isn’t covered by the Vehicle Traffic Law’s definitions of e-bikes or e-scooters, and that isn’t required to be registered with the DMV. It would also create a definition for an “electric off-highway motorcycle” and require that those be sold through licensed ATV dealers. On top of that, retailers would have to provide a disclaimer telling buyers that these machines aren’t legal on New York roads.

Assemblymember Diana Moreno, who is behind the bill, pointed out that these devices can top 50 mph and said the recent deaths confirm they don’t belong on New York streets. She also noted that many New Yorkers depend on e-bikes and other micromobility devices to get around or to earn a living, and that those riders deserve to be safe.

Our Take:

We’re glad to see a clear separation drawn between these machines and e-bikes. That distinction is the piece most legislation gets wrong, and when it’s missing, Class 1, 2, and 3 riders end up carrying the consequences of something they had nothing to do with.

Putting the burden on the point of sale is a smart angle too. Plenty of people buying these things genuinely don’t know what they’re getting, and a required disclaimer at the register does more good than a law most riders will never read.

Gazelle is adding three new Class 1 bikes to its Ultimate family: the Ultimate T10, the Ultimate C5, and the Ultimate C380. They’re built on the same platform and geometry as the Class 3 Ultimate Speed models the brand introduced earlier this year, but they’re aimed at a different kind of ride.

Gazelle described it this way: the Ultimate Speed models are for riders chasing speed and commuting performance, while the new Class 1 models are for everything else. More leisure and recreation focused, still sporty and dynamic, but tuned for riders who want a natural pedal assist feel. The company also pointed out that these are some of its bestselling models, now at a better price, and that the full lineup means there’s an Ultimate for however someone wants to ride.

The redesigned platform brings a few upgrades across the board. All models get wider tires, a suspension seatpost, and an air fork to take the edge off rough pavement. There’s full Bosch smart system integration, and riders get either a Kiox or a Purion display depending on the model. Gazelle describes the fit as an active but comfortable riding position.

Our Take:

These look like solid additions, and we’d love to get our hands on them. Gazelle taking its best-selling platform and offering it in a Class 1 flavor at a lower price is a sensible move, especially for riders who never wanted 28 mph in the first place.

There are a lot of people out there who just want a good bike that feels like a bike. An air fork, wider tires, and a Bosch system tuned for a natural pedal feel is a pretty appealing combination for that rider.

Honda brought an e-MTB concept called the RN0 to Sea Otter Europe, developed in partnership with German bike company Rotwild.

The spec sheet is serious. It’s built around a full carbon frame with a Shimano EP8 mid-drive, and it’s kitted out with a Shimano XTR groupset that includes a 12-speed drivetrain, a wired-in Di2 derailleur, and 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes. It runs a mullet setup with a 29″ front wheel and a 27.5″ rear, plus Fox suspension including a Fox 36 fork.

Honda said the bike uses a lightweight carbon monocoque frame inspired by its motorcycle engineering, designed to balance rigidity and flexibility for precise handling, confident cornering, and good rider feedback. The company also said the suspension layout is built to climb efficiently while staying composed on demanding terrain. Honda described its approach as a “Man Maximum, Machine Minimum” philosophy, which seems to point toward a lower-powered unit meant to enhance rider effort rather than overpower it.

There’s one more wrinkle. BikeRumor noticed that Honda’s teaser video for the bike showed a motor that doesn’t match the standard Shimano production unit on the display model.

Our Take:

That motor detail is the most interesting thing here. If Honda and Shimano are working together on something that isn’t the current EP8, that’s a bigger story than the concept bike itself.

As for the RN0, we’d expect nothing less than a well-sorted bike from a Honda and Rotwild collaboration, and the build reflects that. Concept bikes are concept bikes, though, and there’s a long distance between a show floor in Europe and a bike you can actually buy. We’ll be watching to see if this one goes anywhere.

Basecamp’s HT-10 helmet, made by Tongyang Cycling, is being recalled because it doesn’t comply with safety standards governing impact attenuation and positional stability. In plain terms, the helmet may not stay in place during a crash, and it may not absorb impacts the way a helmet is supposed to.

The helmets also fail to meet certification requirements, and they don’t carry the required labeling warning against ingestion of the included button cell battery. In a crash, or if the battery is swallowed, the results can be serious injury or death.

There are 315 units affected. They were sold on Amazon for $34 between July 2024 and July 2026. If you have one, stop using it, cut off the straps, take a photo of the destroyed helmet, and contact Tongyang Cycling with that photo to get a full refund.

Our Take:

The unit count here is small, but the failure is about as fundamental as it gets. A helmet that doesn’t stay on your head or absorb an impact isn’t doing the one job you bought it for, and the missing button cell warning makes this worse if there are kids in the house.

If you’ve got one of these sitting in the garage, cut the straps and get your refund. A $34 helmet isn’t worth the gamble, and the recall process here is about as easy as these things get.

Wet season is coming, and Showers Pass sent over a handful of pieces we’ve been putting to use.

The Syncline CC Jacket is a lightweight waterproof and windproof outer layer made from a mix of Artex fabric and recycled nylon. It has Scotchlite reflective material for visibility, two vents for breathability, and a hood cut to fit under a helmet. It comes in six sizes and two colors. Ours is leaf green, but there’s also a firecracker red/orange. It runs $199.

The Cloudburst Jacket is the hoodless option, and it’s soft, stretchy, breathable, and waterproof. The standout feature is how small it packs down. It stows inside its own back pocket. It’s made from lightweight eliteAIR fabric and recycled polyester, has large vents that double as pockets, and has a slimmer fit with 4-way stretch. Six sizes, two colors, and ours is pear, with black also available. It’s $239.

The Cross Point Waterproof Knit Gloves in Pro Wool use a 3-layer construction that’s both breathable and waterproof, with a Merino wool liner for warmth. Showers Pass puts them in the 30 to 50 degree range. There’s silicone on the palm and fingertips for grip, and conductive yarn on the index finger and thumb so you can use a touchscreen. They stretch like socks. Six sizes, three colors, and $59 per pair.

The Cross Point Waterproof Socks in Sport use the same 3-layer breathable, waterproof construction. They have full-length cushioning on the footbed, a synthetic liner for moisture wicking, an antibacterial treatment for odor control, and reinforcement at the heel and toe. Four sizes, two colors, and $52 per pair.

Our Takeaway: If you ride through fall and winter, this is the kind of gear that decides whether you actually go out or make an excuse. The Cloudburst is the one we keep reaching for, mostly because it packs into its own pocket and lives in a bag without taking up space.

The socks and gloves are the sleeper picks here. Cold, wet hands and feet end a ride faster than a cold torso does, and both of these are priced in a range where they’re easy to justify.

• Does slow charging actually make an e-bike battery last longer?
• Why were we so easy on the N+ Ford Mustang e-bike, and what does our testing and review process actually look like?
• Should throttle speeds be limited to less than 20 mph?
• Which folding e-bike should a high-mileage rider pick to replace a Lectric XPremium without spending $5,000?

Trek has added two e-bikes to its lineup, and only one of them is coming here. The Domane+ SL is available in the US and overseas. The Inbound+ has not been announced for the US market.

The Domane+ SL is the lightweight road option, starting as low as 24.5 lbs. It runs a TQ HPR40 mid-drive rated at 200W with 40 Nm of torque, and it’s built around a 360 Wh battery that Trek says is good for up to 70 miles. Riders who go through Trek’s Project One customization program can option a 580 Wh battery instead, which pushes the claimed range to 115 miles. The bike comes with 35mm tires and has clearance for up to 40mm, tops out at 28 mph, and pairs with the Trek Central app for motor tuning and other adjustments. There are three new spec levels alongside the existing SLR, with prices running from $6,500 to $12,000.

The Inbound+ takes a different approach. It uses a Bosch Hub Line motor rated at 250W and 45 Nm, with a removable battery in either 360 Wh or 600 Wh. Buyers can choose an 8 or 10-speed Shimano Essa or Cues chain drive, or go with a single-speed belt drive and internally geared hub. It carries an MIK HD cargo rack rated for 60 lbs, comes in high-step and step-thru frames, and weighs between 45 and 50 lbs depending on the build. Prices run from 1,900 to 2,350 British pounds.

Our Take:

The Domane+ SL is the one we’d expect to turn heads here. Under 25 lbs with a claimed 115 miles of range on the Project One build is a lot of bike, though the price range reflects that.

The Inbound+ is the one we’d actually like to ride, and it’s the one we can’t get. A belt-drive city bike with a Bosch hub motor and a 60 lb rack is a practical setup at a reasonable price, and it’s a shame US buyers are sitting this one out for now. We’d be happy to be proven wrong on that.

Segway is following up on one of its more popular e-bikes with the Muxi Pro. Senior brand manager Heather Henderson said the bike “represents the next evolution of one of our most popular e-bikes,” and that it takes what riders already like about the Muxi and adds features meant to make every ride more comfortable, intuitive, and confident.

The upgrade list is long. The Muxi Pro gets a 9-speed automatic shifting drivetrain, a front suspension fork with 70mm of travel, turn signals, and front and rear fenders as standard equipment. Two new colors join the lineup, Anthracite and Reef Blue. There’s also a new Passenger Kit with a seat, footpegs, and wheel guards built to work with the new drivetrain.

The tech is where things get interesting. Hill descent control and regenerative braking work together to keep descents under control while easing wear on the brake pads. Hill start assist prevents rollback when you’re pulling away on an incline, and traction control is included as well. On the security side, the bike supports Apple Find My and GPS tracking, plus AirLock and Lost Mode.

The rest of the spec sheet: a 750W motor with 80 Nm of torque, 20 x 3 inch tires, and a 418 lb payload capacity. Price is $1,999.99.

Our Take:

These look like real upgrades, not just a new paint job and a model name. Hill descent control, regen braking, hill start assist, and traction control on a $1,999.99 utility bike is a lot of hardware for the money, and automatic shifting on a bike carrying passengers makes sense. We’d love to get one in for testing to see how it all works in practice.

French brand Moustache has gone back to where it started. The updated Lundi 27 is a revamp of the company’s first e-bike, which launched back in 2012.

The new version gets a slimmer, more angular step-thru frame and drops 3.5 kg, or 7.7 lbs, compared to the previous model. Power comes from a Bosch Hub Line motor rated at 250W nominal with 400W peak and 45 Nm of torque, paired with a removable 360 Wh battery. Buyers can choose between a single-speed build with a Gates belt drive or a 9-speed Shimano CUES drivetrain. Shimano hydraulic disc brakes handle stopping, and there’s an MIK-HD cargo rack with an optional MIK front rack.

Moustache included Bosch’s ConnectModule for location tracking and security, along with the Smartphone Grip, which turns a phone into the bike’s display. A limited Launch Edition adds Chromatic Blue paint and a 10-speed drivetrain. The standard model is 2,399 Euros and the Launch Edition is 2,899 Euros.

Our Take:

Bringing back the bike that started the company is a nice move, and Moustache didn’t just recycle the name. Cutting 7.7 lbs is meaningful on a city bike, and offering a belt drive alongside the CUES build covers both the low-maintenance crowd and riders who want gears.

Like the Trek Inbound+, this is a European bike, which is becoming a familiar theme in city and commuter news lately. The Hub Line motor and the ConnectModule tracking show up on a lot of the bikes we’d like to see over here.

We got our hands on three accessories from Knog this week, covering sound, security, and light.

The Oi! Prima Bike Bell uses a wrap-around design that sits flush against the handlebar instead of sticking up off it. The bell and hammer are metal with plastic elements elsewhere, and the tone is clear and consistent. It comes in two handlebar sizes, 22.2mm and 23.8-31.8mm, in black or white/silver. It’s $32.99.

The Scout Bike Alarm & Finder is a plate with motion detection, an alarm, and Apple or Android Find My tracking built in. It mounts to the bottle cage bosses on the frame using anti-tamper screws. Once it’s armed, movement sets off an 85 db alarm and sends a notification to the owner’s iPhone if they’re in range. It recharges over USB-C, runs two to six months per charge, and is water resistant. It’s $64.99.

The Blinder X 2300 Front Bike Light Helmet Kit is the serious one. It’s a 12-LED headlight putting out 2,300 lumens with a helmet mount and a remote, so you can run it from a button on your helmet. There are six modes with flashing and steady options, and the external 10,000 mAh battery recharges over USB-C for up to 75 hours of run time. LEDs on the battery show the charge level. It’s $289.99.

Our Takeaway: The Blinder X 2300 feels solid, heavy, and well made in hand, which is what you want at that price. The Scout is the one we’d point most riders toward, though. Find My tracking and an 85 db alarm for $64.99, mounted to the bottle cage bosses with anti-tamper hardware, is cheap insurance on a bike worth a couple thousand dollars.

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• Is the ride quality of the XPress2 noticeably better than the folding XP4?
• How does the AIMA Key West 2 compare to the Velotric Breeze 1 when it comes to comfort and motor noise?
• Is there a more comfort-focused alternative to both of them?